San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-10-13
A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR.
AN UNPARALLELEDPIE OF BRU-
TALLY.
A Well Known Married Lady, Mrs. J,
N. Truax, Dragged From Her Bed
by Masked Ruffians and
Threatened With


Murder.
A most horrible outrage, either for
the purpose OF robbery or worse, was per-
petrated last night on Mrs. TTuGx. wife
OF our we'll known citizen, who is q sad
dler by trade. The family residence Is
located at No. 4O2 Dryer avenue, 10 the
isolated bend OF the river, known by old
San AntOnians as the "Old Cotton
Yard" The lady was alone in the
house and had retired a little before o
o'clock. Her husband with her daugh-
ter, Miss Edna Truax, mad gone TO the
German English fair at the Casino, and
her three or four sons were away from
home in the city. No danger was APP
pretended, as before she had remained
AT home alone, her ill health and deli
cate frame fOrbdding her from going
out 10 the evenings. She states she fell
asleep about y o'clock and was suddenly
awakened by hand placed upon
her shoulder to arouse her. She
looked and saw, by the light
burning in her room, two masked
men bending over her. They demand
ed that she get up and give them all the
money she had In the house. She told
them she had none. Holding a pistol
close to her head the demand was re-
peated; still she asserted she had no
money. Then they roughly threw u
she ct over her head and dragged her by
her hair out in,o the yard considerable
distance from the house, swearing and
threatening to kill her. She began
screaming with fright and pain and
the rufiians were unable to 6tiile her
cries and suddenly left just as the lady
swooned away. Their departure was
no doubt fastened by the arrival OF
help, In the persons of Mr.. Sam
C. Bennett and Miss Mollie
Bennett, living In the adjoining
house. They heard her screams and MIR.
Bennett shouted that he WAS coming and
ran into the yard. The lady, atlired in
her night clothes, was found lying IN
conscious on the ground. She was car
ried into the house and revived after
some time, and gave the statement Of
the outrage as narrated above. Her
relatives were sent for and soon arrived.
DR.. Amos Graves WAS summoned and
under his attention Mrs. Truax was par
TALLY Gained, though all Of last night
and today she was in very critical con-
ditiOn from nervous prOstratiOn and
fright, and it will be some days before
she fully RECEIVERS.
A LIGHT reporter visited the Truax
homestead and saw the injured lady.
she was in bed in the room that the rob
bers erlered and while very weak ard
iii from the suffering she endured. talked
freely about the affair. She noticed,
lust before retiring for the night, that
tue house cat and little dog kept rs
pet about the premises, acted very
strangely and seemed unusually excit-
ed. Twice she put the cat out of the
room and closed all the doors
and windows. The Tuffians must
have entered by the back kitchen win
dow, as slat of the blind of this win
dow was off, leaving an aperture large
enough TO admit Of the hand being in
serted to raise the catch. This window,
as well as all the doors in the house,
were found to be open, after the robbers
left The lady says she awOke hearing a
rafting at this window, but supposing
it to be the Fostering cat, paid no heed
to it and fell asleep. When sne awOke
size was too frightened to notice whether
the men were negroes or wore black
masks. There were two. They asked
her for money, and she told them all the
money she had was in the pocket of her
black dress, hanging up. They ran
turned wrongside out. They grew an
gry because they found none. She forgot
that she had worn another dress in Ibe
evening, which contained the money.
They then demanded where the
money from the store was?" she
told them her husband had
nothing to do. with the store which
belonged TO Mr.. Ramsay and Mr. Ford.
They asked her also "if the store up
there did not belong to them?" She
said mo- as before. They began
threatening her and dragged her into
the yard, as detailed.
When the family returned home and
friends had come in last night, the
trunk in the kitchen was found to be
completely Tansacked, as were other
parts OF the house, showing that they
we're bent only upon robbery and had
thoroughly looked the house over for
money before they entered her room.
Police last night secured the vicinity
thoroughly for the men and watched
closely the lonely banks of the river
running back of these lots on this
avenue, and this morning the detectives
found tracks of two meI, one in his bare
feet, the other apparently walking in his
socks, which led down from the spot
where the lady was found insensible
straight across To the fence on the side
next to the river. DR.. Graves stated
last night that ohloroform had been used
upon the lady, probably by hsndker-
chief, which she mistoOk for a sheet and
this il was that rendered her uncOn-
sciuus. That they were tramps and
strangers IN the city, is evident from the
house they attempted to rob and their
ignorance as TO who was the proprietor
OF the store at which MIR. Truax worked.
| The banks Of the river next to this resi-
dence has long been rOOsting place for
| tramps, and large numbers of them have
many times been arrested there. Late
~ several have been seen skulking about
the place, but as they have never mo-
Tested the family, no attention was paid
| to them, although three times has this
house been robbed before Mr.. Truax
moved into it. Mr.. Charley Truax
states that as he was leaving home last
evening near the front gate he saw two
men, one tall, and the other OF low sta
ture. whom he thought were negroes,
lurking about, but he paid no attention
| to them.
The injured lady has been visited to-
| day by a great number of ladies and gem
tlemen friends of the family and reCeiv-
ed great deal of sympathy.
| The Doctors.
The Texas Medical association met
| last night in the county court room.